Bahraini activist barred from flight to kingdom

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A prominent Bahraini rights activist has been barred from a flight to the gulf kingdom after a request from government authorities.

A British Airways spokesman told The Associated Press that Maryam al-Khawaja had been stopped from boarding a direct London-to-Bahrain flight Friday. The spokesman said the airline barred her as “we are required to comply with requests from individual government authorities.”

The spokesman spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Officials in Bahrain could not be reached for comment.

Al-Khawaja is the daughter of jailed activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th fleet, has faced more than 18 months of unrest between the Sunni-led monarchy and its majority Shiite population. The government has promised to crack down on dissent.